Adjustment device for safety ski binding

ABSTRACT

The device for adjusting the longitudinal position of a boot holding device in a safety ski binding comprises means for adjusting at any time the distance between the toe-end and heelend boot holding means of the binding, and also for momentary compensating the variations in said distance when running on concave surface portions.

United States Patent Mimeur Apr. 2, 1974 {54] ADJUSTMENT DEVICE FOR SAFETY SKI 3,620,545 11/1971 Korger 280/1135 T BINDING 3,643,977 2/1972 Berlenbach 280/1135 T 3,408,087 10/1968 Ramillon 280/1135 T [75] Inventor: Robert Mim r, s ll n France 3,604,720 9/1971 Reuge 280/1135 T [73] Assignee: Etablissements Carpano & Pons -a Cluses, France Primary Examiner-Robert R. Song [22] Filed; No 10, 1971 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert E. Burns; Emmanuel J. Lobato [21] App]. No.: 197,441

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 1 ABSTRACT NOV. 16, France The device for adjusting the longitudinal position of a boot holding device in a safety ski binding comprises [22] 281121313950: means for adjusting at any time the distance between l T the toe-end and heel-end boot holding means of the 1 0 binding, and also for momentary compensating the variations in said distance when running on concave [56] References Cited surface portions UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,432,180 3/1969 Suhner 280/1135 T 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures ADJUSTMENT DEVICE FOR SAFETY SKI BINDING FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to safety ski bindings and has specific reference to devices for adjusting the longitudinal position of a ski binding member on a ski.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In this field, a great number of mechanisms have already been proposed for securing a boot to a ski, but all of them are based on a common method, i.e. using two members for constantly urging the boot sole against the top surface of the ski, these two members being rigidly secured to the ski and positioned at the toe-end (front abutment member) and heel end (heel hold-down member) of the ski boot.

Although the actual position of these two mechanisms on the ski is determined as an exact function of the boot length, a certain adjustment range must be provided for the longitudinal dimension between heel and toe, to compensate, for instance, the change of boot or a possible deformation of this boot. As a rule, this adjustment is provided for in the heel device and consists mostly of a screw or rack mechanism already known per se.

This adjustment device, in addition to its function of adjusting the sole position on the ski, may have another function, i.e. maintaining this adjustment in case of momentary longitudinal distortion of the ski itself. In fact, when skiing downhill on uneven surfaces the ski is not always rectilinear. Thus, when running on a concave snow area the weight of the skier causes the ski to be deflected momentarily and to assume a concave curvature, so that the boot length is momentarily slightly greater than the adjustment length between the toe retaining member and the heel hold-down member, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1 of the attached drawing. In'this figure, the length A-C of the ski boot constitutes the chord of an are having a length A-B-C. Under these conditions it is clear that during a short time period an abnormal intolerable stress is exerted on the ski boot by the ski binding.

Therefore, some means are provided as a rule for compensating these variations in length, mostly in combination with the above-mentioned manual adjustment device, and usually in the form of a coil compression spring (cf. French Patent No. 1.454.505).

In general, the manual adjustment of the optimum distance between the heel hold-down device and the front or toe abutment member as a function of the boot length is obtained either by using a screwdriver engaging a slot of the adjustment screw, or by rotating a knurled knob. When the proper length is thus obtained the screw is locked either by means of a knurled lock nut or by providing a well-known detent-positioning effect obtained by using a spring blade engaging the successive lateral faces of a regular polygonal member rigid with the adjustment screw. It is a primary requirement that this longitudinal adjustment manoeuver can be performed with the greatest facility when skiing under difficult conditions such as deep snow, ice, mud, and it is well known that this requirement is scarcely met in existing safety ski binding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the essential object of the present invention to provide a device for adjusting the longitudinal position of a member in a safety ski binding, i.e. in a mechanism for releasably fastening a boot to a ski, said device comprising means for adjusting at any time and without difficulty the distance between the front and rear retaining members of the safety ski binding as a function of the boot length, and other means for compensating, through the compression of a spring, the variations in this distance which are caused by the ski bending movement during ski runs, this device being characterized in that it comprises a longitudinal rod of prismatic configuration, rotatably solid with a hollow screw slidably mounted on said prismatic rod and co-acting with a member secured to the ski, a compression spring interposed between said hollow screw and a member rigid with said prismatic rod, the portion of said prismatic rod which is opposite to said hollow screw being held between a fixed cylindrical member engaging one face of said prismatic rod and a transverse spring blade adapted to be deflected in a direction at right angles to said prismatic rod and rigid in a direction parallel to said prismatic rod, one of said elements, i.e. the cylindrical member or the spring blade, being shaped to prevent any lateral movement of said prismatic rod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an explanatory view illustrating the operation of this invention,

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the attached drawing illustrate diagrammatically by way of example a typical form of embodiment of the invention; namely:

FIG. 2 is a part-elevational, part-sectional view, the section being taken along the line IIII of FIG. 3,

FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken along the line Ill-Ill of FIG. 2, and v FIG. 4 is another cross-section taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawing, the component elements of the safety ski binding proper are not shown, as they are well known to those conversant with the art. The device of this invention is adapted to be incorporated in all ski bindings, irrespective of their principle of operation.

Referring to FIG. 2, showing diagrammatically ski boot engaging means including a heel hold-down device, only the adjustment device of this invention is shown in section. Means for permitting a change in the position of the ski boot engaging means along the longitudinal axis of a ski comprises a member 1 consisting of a flat plate or rack rigidly secured to the top surface of the ski 2 through known means (not shown). One portion of this plate I has spaced notches 3 formed therein to constitute a series of rack teeth engageable by a hollow screw or member 4. This screw 4 is. adapted to slide longitudinally on a prismatic rod or shaft 5 having a polygonal cross-section as shown in FIG. 3; in this example this cross-section is of hexagonal configuration. At its outer end the rod 5 comprises a diametral slot 6 permitting of rotating this rod by means of a screwdriver, so as to rotate the hollow screw 4 about its axis. Restoring means includes spring means comprising a coil compression spring 7 prestressed between the hollow screw 4 and a washer 8 retained by a circlip engaging a groove formed in said rod. This spring 7 constantly urges the screw 4 against a thrust-bearing 9 rotatably mounted in the case or frame 10 of the device. At its end opposite to said thrust bearing 9 the prismatic rod is normally held against movement in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the ski by a pair of members 11 and 12 shown more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4. Member 11 is a cylindrical distance piece secured permanently to the case 10. The other member 12 is a spring blade also secured to the case but having a thickness permitting a certain deflection in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the ski 2. Said spring blade 12 comprises a central bent cavity 13 engageable by a cylindrical pivot extension 14 formed at the inner end of the rod 5, in order to prevent the rod 5 from moving in a direction parallel to the main plane of the ski. These members 11 and 12 are so positioned that the rod 5 is held against translation by its engagement at 15 with the blade 12 and against rotation by the engagement at 16 of one of the flat lateral faces of the polygonal section of said rod with the adjacent generatrix of said cylindrical distance-piece 11.

The above-described device operates as follows:

To adjust manually the longitudinal position of the ski binding, the skier rotates the rod 5 for example by means of a screwdriver. During this movement, a certain resistance is encountered due to the mutual engagement of one of the flat faces of rod 5 and the cylindrical distance piece 11. The user must therefore overcome this resistance by slightly bending the spring 12, the device operating somewhat like a detentpositioning mechanism, the spring resuming its initial position each time another flat face of rod 5 engages the cylindrical distance piece 11. Thus, the hollow screw 4 is rotated and, by engaging and reacting against the fixed rack 3, causes a movement of translation of the complete assembly guided for example by side rails or slideways l7 and 18 formed integrally with said plate 1. Under these conditions, it will be seen that when the proper or desired adjustment position is obtained the rod 5, and therefore the hollow screw 3 and the complete adjustment device, are locked as a consequence of the spring-loaded engagement produced between oneflat face of rod 5 and the adjacent generatrix of distance piece 11. The contact areas at points 15 and 16 are made of, or lined with hard materials, or treated with a view to minimize their wear and tear.

In the case illustrated in FIG. 1, when the points A and C exert a compression stress on the boot, the heel hold-down device reacting at point 15 where the blade 12 engages a shoulder formed on rod 5 moves temporarily in one direction of the arrow F (FIG. 2), thus absorbing the compression stress until the force having created this stress is removed or dissipated.

As an alternative, the prismatic rod 5 could be held against lateral movement by a step formed on distance piece ll.

It should be emphasized that all the component elements of the device are enclosed completely in the case 10 and therefore safely protected against any external agents such as snow, ice and mud, and that the skier can modify at will the device under any weather conditiOl'lSythBSB valuable results being obtained by using particularly simple and economical means.

Of course, various modifications may be brought to the specific and typical form of embodiment illustrated and described herein, without inasmuch departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a safety ski binding, a device for variably adjusting the distance between a toe-end and a heel-end system as a function of the length of a ski boot and for compensating for the variations normally occurring in said distance as a consequence of the momentary bending of the ski during ski runs, said device comprising a flat plate fixedly mounted with respect to a ski during use of the device, an elongated rod having a polygonal cross-section and mounted for rotational movement about its longitudinal axis, means including an externally threaded member slidably mounted on said rod at one portion and coacting with said plate to move along the longitudinal axis of said ski in response to manual rotational movement of said rod, a member fixedly mounted to said rod at another portion, a compression spring interposed between said externally threaded member and said member, a fixed cylindrical member engaging said rod at one end portion and a transverse deflectable spring blade deflected in a direction vertical to the longitudinal axis of said rod in response to the rotation of said rod and rigid in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said rod and abutting said rod to bias same into continuous contact with said cylindrical member, and wherein one of said fixed cylindrical member or said spring blade is configured to prevent the lateral movements of said rod.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said flat plate has means therein defining notches engagable with said means including said externally threaded member, and a rotatably mounted thrust bearing abut ting said threaded member.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said transverse spring blade has a central arcuate portion and wherein said rod has a cylindrical pivot at said one end portion defining an extension of reduced diameter operative to engage said central arcuate portion of said transverse spring blade.

4. A safety ski binding usable with a ski and a ski boot comprising: ski boot engaging means for releasably engaging a ski boot on a ski during use of the ski binding; means responsive to a force applied by said ski boot to said ski boot engaging means resulting from a deformation of said ski during use for permitting a change in the position of said ski boot engaging means along the longitudinal axis of said ski comprising means mounting said ski binding on said ski during use thereof for longitudinal movement therealong, an elongated shaft having a polygonal cross-section along substantially the whole length thereof; a first member fixedly mounted with respect to said ski, a second member slidably mounted on said shaft and coactive with said first member to resist longitudinal movement thereof, spring means disposed on said shaft for urging said second member towards one end portion of said shaft and for permitting said shaft and said ski boot engaging means to move longitudinally with respect to said ski whenever a force is applied to said one end of said shaft as a result of a force applied to said ski boot engaging means, and means for variably adjusting the position of said ski boot engaging means along the longitudinal axis of said ski to accommodate for different sizes of ski boots including means mounting said shaft for rotational movement about its longitudinal axis comprising a fixed cylindrical member engaging said shaft at the other end portion and a transverse deflectable spring blade deflected in a direction vertical to the longitudinal axis of said shaft in response to the rotation of said shaft and rigid in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft and abutting said shaft to bias same into continuous contact with said cylindrical member, and wherein one of said fixed cylindrical member and said spring blade is configured to prevent the lateral movements of said shaft; and restoring means for restoring said ski boot engaging means to its original position upon the removal of said force.

threads engagable with said teeth. 

1. In a safety ski binding, a device for variably adjusting the distance between a toe-end and a heel-end system as a function of the length of a ski boot and for compensating for the variations normally occurring in said distance as a consequence of the momentary bending of the ski during ski runs, said device comprising a flat plate fixedly mounted with respect to a ski during use of the device, an elongated rod having a polygonal cross-section and mounted for rotational movement about its longitudinal axis, means including an externally threaded member slidably mounted on said rod at one portion and coacting with said plate to move along the longitudinal axis of said ski in response to manual rotational movement of said rod, a member fixedly mounted to said rod at another portion, a compression spring interposed between said externally threaded member and said member, a fixed cylindrical member engaging said rod at one end portion and a transverse deflectable spring blade deflected in a direction vertical to the longitudinal axis of said rod in response to the rotation of said rod and rigid in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said rod and abutting said rod to bias same into continuous contact with said cylindrical member, and wherein one of said fixed cylindrical member or said spring blade is configured to prevent the lateral movements of said rod.
 2. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said flat plate has means therein defining notches engagable with said means including said externally threaded member, and a rotatably mounted thrust bearing abutting said threaded member.
 3. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said transverse spring blade has a central arcuate portion and wherein said rod has a cylindrical pivot at said one end portion defining an extension of reduced diameter operative to engage said central arcuate portion of said transverse spring blade.
 4. A safety ski binding usable with a ski and a ski boot comprising: ski boot engaging means for releasably engaging a ski boot on a ski during use of the ski binding; means responsive to a force applied by said ski boot to said ski boot engaging means resulting from a deformation of said ski during use for permitting a change in the position of said ski boot engaging means along the longitudinal axis of said ski comprising means mounting said ski binding on said ski during use thereof for longitudinal movement therealong, an elongated shaft having a polygonal cross-section along substantially the whole length thereof; a first member fixedly mounted with respect to said ski, a second member slidably mounted on said shaft and coactive with said first member to resist longitudinal movement thereof, spring means disposed on said shaft for urging said second member towards one end portion of said shaft and for permitting said shaft and said ski boot engaging means to move longitudinally with respect to said ski whenever a force is applied to said one end of said shaft as a result of a force applied to said ski boot engaging means, and means for variably adjusting the position of said ski boot engaging means along the longitudinal axis of said ski to accommodate for different sizes of ski boots including means mounting said shaft for rotational movement about its longitudinal axis comprising a fixed cylindrical member engaging said shaft at the other end portion and a transverse deflectable spring blade deflected in a direction vertical to the longitudinal axis of said shaft in response to the rotation of said shaft and rigid in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft and abutting said shaft to bias same into continuous contact with said cylindrical member, and wherein one of said fixed cylindrical member and said spring blade is configured to prevent the lateral movements of said shaft; and restoring means for restoring said ski boot engaging means to its original position upon the removal of said force.
 5. A safety ski binding according to claim 4, further comprising means for variably adjusting the position of said ski boot engaging means along the longitudinal axis of said ski to accommodate for different sizes of ski boots.
 6. A safety ski binding according to claim 4, wherein said spring means comprises a compressible spring.
 7. In a safety ski binding according to claim 4, wherein said first member comprises a rack having teeth and wherein said second member has external threads engagable with said teeth. 